Post Christmas - pre New Year........

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did, it was only a small gathering at my sister's but great company and wonderful food. I did miss my daughter though who has flown the nest to live in Melbourne - it was our first Christmas that our little family of four was only three! The phone companies did well out of us though!

Now the left over ham is dwindling and I'm starting to think about the New Year and all the self - improvement that is about to happen.....Ha Ha! ;)

I'm on holidays from work until the 6th so I've spent some of my downtime playing with my chainmaille. This time using the rubber rings with sterling, I've gone oversized - much like I feel after the Christmas feast!
These earrings are pretty huge but the good thing is they are super lightweight.

Just added a couple of photos here, but there's more on my Flicker Photostream.



Happy New Year everyone :) Pin It

Where's the day gone........

Day off today and this morning I felt a sudden urge to get creative. Anything to avoid doing the house work and washing!
I've had it in the back of my mind to make a ring for myself and simply never got around to it so today it happened!

It wasn't all smooth sailing though - the silver got the dreaded fire scale when I soldered it which meant lots of extra filing and sanding - for a pretty simple design I've spent the best part of the day on it! It's not perfect but I'm not going to point out the other faults - can't see 'em when I'm wearing it anyway, so I'm happy with the day's efforts. Pin It

Magpie

We have a lot of magpies around here - most often I notice them when they come up the street in the early morning in a pack - looking over everyone's lawns for some tasty bugs and worms.
I noticed this little one this afternoon from the bedroom window, sitting in the shade on a fallen palm frond in our front garden. He didn't appear to be injured but didn't have very long tail feathers. He let me get about 2 feet away from him and stared right at me when I took this picture.
He flew away a little later when one of our dogs chased him away - luckily he could fly although not very high and we grabbed the dog before he could hurt the Magpie. My husband had let the dogs out with him, not realising the bird was there.
When the dog chased him - we suddenly noticed all the other magpies, they didn't actually swoop us but they all flew in close.
It's been about half an hour and he's now sitting on a neighbours fence in the shade - the adult birds are still milling around him keeping an eye out for him.

I guess they'll have to look after him until he can fly up a little higher than he can now. Pin It

Crossed the first thing off my To Do List!!

I only had one thing on my list and I've crossed it off, so now I can start on a new list. It's taken a day or so and I still have a drawer or two to sort out but at least it's tidy!! YAY!!

Before Shots: (hmmm - I'm ashamed of these - It's pretty messy, but I could shut the door on it and pretend it wasn't there!)



and after shots: I intend to keep it like this ;)



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Time to do the things on the "To Do" List

Had a good day yesterday. My sister and I headed down to the Made On The Left Designer Market followed by lunch later at Tarts,
a great little place hidden in Lake Street. Yum.
The Market was bigger than the first one with more great stalls and a bit more space than before. Lots of fabulous wares on sale but this Fridge Magnet by the very talented Amanda from Polyclarific called out to me.



Now of course I need to write an extensive list and put it on the fridge with my new magnet where I can't ignore it.
My office/work room is a mess and I really have to tidy it. It's gonna be a such big job that at the moment it's the only thing on my list.
I fully intended to start yesterday evening and I started sorting through some of my supplies but got sidetracked with this instead!



More pics on my Flickr photostream.

I shall publish this post, turn the computer off and have another attempt at crossing off the only thing on my "To Do" list! Pin It

Windows on William

Yesterday, my daughter, Lauren and I took off to Northbridge to soak up a bit of Culture!

The Windows On William Street Exhibition is on and local artists install their artwork in the windows of the local shops/businesses. As you go around each place you are encouraged to collect a limited edition print of each artist's work - These are inside the shops, which of course gives exposure (and I guess hopefully some sales!) to the businesses that support the artists.

We visited each venue and collected 13 of the 14 prints. (One place was closed).


We got off to a bad start - first stop when we surfaced from the car park was the Blue Room Theatre & Bar and as we stood in front of the window we couldn't see any Art, but the sliding door opened. We stepped through to the foyer but still couldn't see any art! In our confused state, we felt a little sheepish when a staff person pointed out that we'd walked past the art - it was outside on the top panel above the sliding doors - Duh!!

Lesson learnt, and we made a point of looking above eye level at all the other exhibitions just in case we missed something!

The highlights were the installation by the Made on the Left collaboration featuring the work of my local online Etsy friends. Great job girls!

Another stand out was Subgang at William Topp.
This is a real find of a shop too, interesting and friendly and definitely worth another visit. Bought this for Lauren here - sums her up rather well ;)


And check out their cool cards we were given showing their business hours.



If you're a local it's a great way to lose a couple of hours browsing around Northbridge. I got to see some great artwork, find new shops and go into places I'd not normally venture into, I'm thinking specifically here of the Piercing & Tattoo parlour (I'm not really their target demographic) but none the less they were very welcoming. Also, Red Stripe Clothing, where Lauren bought a dress but my presence in the shop probably diminished their reputation as a "cool arsed clothing store" a little (LOL).
It's on until November 23rd. Pin It

Industrial Floral - Is that an Oxymoron?

I've been playing with rubber rings in my chainmaille for a while. I love the industrial look of the rubber contrasting against the sterling silver.
But these are a departure for me - I'm not usually the flowery type, but I liked how these turned out.

I'm going to give these a quick tumble polish and they are heading down to Behind The Monkey

My favourite is the cross - it's a whopping 8.5cm long, not for the faint hearted :)

More pictures on my flickr photostream. Pin It

Etsy Street Teams

I opened my Etsy store in 2006 and one of the things we do to promote ourselves and others on Etsy is to join Street teams.

I'm a member of several teams - Here they are:

The most recent one I joined is the Metal Smiths in Action Street team. It's members are talented silver and metal smiths - check them out here
http://metalsmithsinaction.webs.com/index.htm

Because of my love of Chainmaille, I'm also a member of the Chainmaillers Guild - Here's their blog

The others I'm part of don't promote a specific Craft or Art but more a location.
The DUST Team stands for The Down Under Street Team and is open to all Etsy Sellers in Australia. Lots of Aussie talent right here


Last but not least is my local Perth team - Made on The Left - they've formed a committee and are not only promoting Etsy but are supporting all things Art & Craft in Perth. They have run a successful Craft Market and the second one is coming up very soon. If you are a Perth Local, be sure to get along to the Hyde Park Hotel on November 15th. See their blog or website for more info.

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Spinach & Potato Frittata

This is usually a jewellery blog but I was asked for this recipe so today it's a recipe blog!
No picture because we ate it before it could be photographed but I make this old stand by pretty regularly so I'll add a pic later. It's vegetarian but not vegan!

Measurements are approximate - you can pretty much add more or less of any of the ingredients - or substitute low fat products if you like.

*250g box frozen chopped spinach - thawed and drained - press through a strainer to get all the moisture out.
* About 3 small or 2 large potatoes - peeled & cubed and at least part cooked. I nuke 'em.
* 250g tub of cottage cheese
* about 1 cup (125g) of Tasty cheese grated
* About 1/2 cup cream - I use sour cream sometimes or ordinary cream other times
* About 1/2 cup of milk - soy is fine too.
* 4 Eggs - beaten.
* Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix together and pour into a greased pie or medium baking dish. Cook about 35 - 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
Cut into slices to serve - great hot, cold or at room temp! Yum with a salad - good lunch dish. Pin It

New Blog - Behind The Monkey

I've been busy today setting up a new blog.
It's not for me - it's for my sister's shop in Highgate here in the Perth - Behind The Monkey.

If you're a Perth local and haven't seen the shop it's definitely worth a trip down to Highgate to have a look. If you're not from Perth have a look at the blog to see what you're missing :)

Behind The Monkey sells Jewellery (including mine!) and a Fabulous selection of Homewares and Novelty Items. It has a wonderful Gallery room - "The Cracked Gallery" which has been host to exhibitions of many talented local artists
including Seng Mah, and
Ali J, just to name a couple.

Check the blog or better yet, get down there ;) Pin It

Not a bad afternoon's work

Well the Australian Rules Football Grand Final was on this afternoon.

I'm only vaguely interested in footy but I did watch it while I made some jewellery. Nothing like multi-tasking. I was happy with the afternoon's result.

Here's a brand new design I created using rubber rings with Sterling Silver ....

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New Stickers

Well my blog block is over and I'm back!!
Just had to show off these cool new stickers I got
from Max and Bella

I'm going to use them to seal my gift bags which I've yet to buy. I'm thinking black bags for a nice crisp look. Pin It

The Perfect Present!

I'm doing a lot of metal work these days and not using beads and stones so much lately, but my most favourite of the semi precious stones is Mookaite. The colours speak to me and ...well, it's a Western Australian Stone, so that makes it extra cool.

So, yesterday a few friends & I went out to breakfast to celebrate a couple of August Birthdays (mine included). My friend Pam bought me some real mookaite rocks - direct from the earth. She put them in a lovely arrangement with a candle on a dish.

She's recently been on a 4 wheel drive camping tour which took in in the Kennedy Ranges, which is here in Western Australia. While there she collected rocks herself from Mooka Creek.

I am so lucky that she chose to give me a hand picked selection of these beautiful stones - and that I have a friend that is so in tune with me that she would just pick out the "Perfect Present"! So thank you Pam :)

The picture is of my present with the "raw" rocks and the candle and in front of that are some of the beautiful Mookite beads I have in my bead stash. Ha Ha! Some that were prepared earlier - so to speak! Pin It

Broome Holiday

First of all - here's the reason we went to Broome - to celebrate our daughter's 21st with her - she went off backpacking in April and got a job there and hasn't moved on....yet....
Here she is with her new best friend Dom............!!!!



Our baby has grown into a delightful, independent, young lady whom we are so very proud of :)



Words can't describe the beauty of the coastline in the Kimberley - this pic was at Gantheaume Point, not far from Broome.



Apart from seeing our lovely daughter, the lure of the ocean was a bonus for Mr GetSilvered.......here he is showing off his spoils from a day on the beautiful azure ocean



But it wasn't all blue skies and Azure oceans - we had fun at ladies day for the Broome Racing Carnival - nothing like the combo of alcohol, horses, designer labels and red dust! I won $45 on my first bet.....and promptly lost it all on subsequent bets, but it was better than losing my own money!



The hat was too big I might add (I'm the short person!), and is a little worse for wear after being shoved in the suitcase for the trip home!

Finally I'll finish this post with another shot taken from Gantheaume point - I honestly think this is God's own country and my little holiday snaps no way do it justice :)

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Etsy DUST Review

Just got back from a week in Broome where we visited for my daughter's 21st!
More about that later with some pictures........

Before I left I spent a bit of time writing a review on a talented fellow Australian Artisan - melanie from Wiccked. The Etsy Dust Team help promote each other's shops -
Here's my review.

And because I can't wait to show you pics of beautiful Broome - here's a little preview
This is at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm and yes the water really is that colour :)
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www.kiva.org

This article was published in our local Sunday paper and caught my attention. I usually talk about my jewellery but not today.
A micro loan was required to assist a lady expand her small jewellery business in the Dominican Republic - given my love of making jewellery too, I thought that was appropriate. Check out my side bar for a link to many more entrepreneur's from all over the world who require micro business loans and investors - the stories are inspirational.

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Metal Work Challenge

Over on the Beading Forum in the Metalwork section we are having a challenge to make an item using a technique we've never used before and it also must include something found or recycled.

I decided to set a cabochon in a bezel. I had all the right supplies to set a bezel but had not got around to it so I decided to bite the bullet and today was the day!
I made my own cab. by die cutting & doming a copper disc. Then I fluxed the dome and
sprinkled it with Sterling Silver Dust - that's my recycled item - I sweep it off the bench when I cut out sterling rings for my chainmaille and save it.
I had no idea how it'd turn out, some silver fused on & some stayed in it's little specks and the copper oxidised in the heat. Even a bit of fire scale adds to the effect I think!!
The bezel making wasn't as hard as I expected thanks to the excellent video instructions over at the Art Jewelry Magazine site. I still spent most of the day on it though.
This was going to be a ring but I got impatient (as you do!) and went with the easy option of drilling a hole and making it a pendant! Pin It

Featured in an Etsy Treasury

I was lucky enough to be featured in an Etsy Treasury. My corrugated Sterling Pendant was included in a treasury created by DaraArt
I'm in good company with lots of other locals from Western Australia. Thanks Dara! Pin It

Birthday Pressie

I've made these earrings for my niece's Birthday next week. Don't worry I'm sure I won't ruin the surprise - I'm pretty certain she doesn't read my blog!
I've been using a wooden doming block for the last couple of years and I've just upgraded to a stainless steel block and dapping punches. I love it - I can work the metal into a much deeper curve now.
These earrings have a brushed satin finish in the concave part of the dome with a contrasting high polish on the convex part on the reverse. I've nestled a freshwater pearl in each dome. When worn they'll dance around at the end of the chain so both the matte and the polished surfaces will be seen.

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Not for the lonely Cuff!

Really pleased how this turned out. I made a wide copper chainmaille cuff & decorated it with Swarovski TM crystals. Copper findings are a bit scarce, especially wide clasps, so I made my own closure from sheet copper. The cuff will lace up like a shoelace. I may try and look for a better colour ribbon for the tie - The brown looks fine but if I can get a copper coloured ribbon then that would be even better.
This cuff is not for the lonely - I think it will need a friend to help tie it up or failing that a third hand!
In the first photo I've lined up the crystals neatly but in reality when worn the crystals will bounce all over the place randomly.
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Another 3D tri-metal pendant

I had so much fun making the rectangle 3D pendant the other day, that I made another one. This time in a circle shape which I die cut... a little faster than the hand sawing. I used a silver bead instead of the pearl this time. I've got this one up in my Etsy Shop.


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3D, trimetal Pendant

I was quite pleased how this turned out - 3D like a shadow box with a single pearl peeking out.
I've used brass, with copper & sterling. All cold connected with rivets.


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Copper Hearts

OK - so it's the 28th January. Where has the time gone? I can't believe it's almost the end of January. Christmas 07 seems like a distant memory .... a good one .....but distant!!

I packed up all my tools and hid my creative mess before Christmas but I'm happy to say I've re attached the vice to the meals area table and I'm all set to spread my tools all around the house!!
Here are the results of my first burst of creativity for 2008.

I've made heart pendants for Valentine's Day. These are all going to be offered for sale at
Behind the Monkey.

I've made Copper Heart Pendants with Sterling accents & chains: I've sawn, soldered, fused, pierced, hammered, etched, formed, corrugated & oxidised and for the very first time I've riveted!
What a mess I've made and what fun I've had! These are the results. Click on the pics for a close up........





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